Play now!Some people playing Texas Hold’em will play any ace at any time. Those who are experienced players though, know better.
Just because you have an ace does not mean you will win the pot. How should you play the weak ace hand in poker? Let’s look at some examples.

Weak Ace Hands

Let’s say you are in first position, that is the seat directly to the left of the big blind and you are dealt Ace of hearts and 3 of clubs. You decide to go ahead and call the big blind. Fortunately for you, no one raises. Now what are you hoping for on the flop? If you say an ace, maybe you better think again. Let’s say an Ace does hit the board. You now have top pair with a 3 kicker. How confident are you? It is fairly obvious that if another player is holding an ace you could be in huge trouble. If another player has an ace with any card besides a 2 or a 3, you are behind even though you hit top pair. You could be thinking to yourself that because you have one ace and another one is showing that the likelihood of someone else holding another ace is poor. You would be wrong. The math shows that there is a 62 percent chance that at least one other player was dealt an ace. That is the math based on a full table of 10 players. In this particular example you hit top pair, but you don’t feel really good about it. If you decide to fold if someone else bets, then why did you play the hand to begin with?

Suited

Let’s take that first example further and say that instead of A-3 unsuited you have A-3 suited. You now have a better chance of getting the nut flush, but you had better hit the flop if you intend to stick around. For example, if you have a four flush then your chances of getting the flush are about 35 percent. Now at least you have something to feel somewhat confident about. Just having a pair of aces with a weak kicker is nothing to get excited about. Having that same pair, however, with a flush draw is another story.

Bottom Line

The bottom line when talking about an ace and a weak kicker is to not play them unless you are in late position or suited. And remember even when suited, if you miss the flop, be careful. Just because you have an ace does not mean you will win the hand. If your kicker is weak you can run into a ton of trouble calling hands all the way to the river. If you can keep from playing the weak Ace hands you will save yourself a ton of grief, and probably save yourself a ton of money as well.